PLBY Group sales growth strong in 2022, earnings take hit

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Mar 21, 2023

PLBY Group announced on Friday revenues for the full year 2022 grew 8% to $266.9 million, coinciding with net losses widening for the 12 months ending December 31.

The owner of Playboy and Honey Birdette brands said fourth quarter revenue fell to $68.5 million, compared to $95.7 million in the prior-year quarter.

Direct-to-consumer segment revenue was $186.6 million for the year, and $48.3 million for the quarter, while annual licensing segment revenue was $60.9 million and $15.5 million for the quarter. Digital segment revenue was $18.7 million for 2022 and $4.6 million for the quarter.

Despite the sales uptick, net loss was $277.7 million in 2022, largely driven by "non-cash asset impairment charges related to the write-down of goodwill, trademarks and other assets of $308.2 million recorded in the third quarter of 2022, said the American company in its earnings update.

“Last year was challenging on a number of fronts. We embarked on a strategic review to restructure and simplify our business. We have reduced leverage and are evolving our strategy to move to a capital light model entirely focused on our most valuable brands, Playboy and Honey Birdette," said  ​Ben Kohn, chief executive officer of PLBY Group. 

"This restructuring will eliminate a minimum of $15 million of costs on an annualized basis. Our new strategy will provide us with a mix of robust cash flow through our licensing segment, significant growth potential through our creator platform, which is growing at 9% week-over-week, and Honey Birdette. Further, it reduces operational complexity by eliminating unprofitable business units and non-core assets.”

PLBY Group acquired Australian lingerie brand Honey Birdette for $333 million in cash and shares in July 2021, revealing at the time it had big plans to expand the luxury undergarments label, adding it has “potential to become a multi-billion-dollar luxury lifestyle franchise."